Ohio State: Urban Meyer discusses BCS rankings with Buckeyes

Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller, right, tries to run past Iowa defensive back John Lowdermilk during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013, in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State beat Iowa 34-24. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

COLUMBUS — The first Bowl Championship Series rankings of the season came out Sunday evening.
The surprising part is that Ohio State coach Urban Meyer actually acknowledged it with his players.
Since camp broke in early August, Meyer has gone out of his way to douse any talk about polls and national championship game bids.
On Sunday, he broke from that mantra when he discussed with his team what he termed “our first state of the union address,” as the Buckeyes (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) prepare for this Saturday’s nationally televised game against visiting Penn State.
“It’s the first time that I do talk about polls, because I wanted to,” Meyer said. “(OSU’s players) are going to hear it, this BCS thing came out.”
Ohio State is fourth in the first BCS rankings, trailing (in order) Alabama, Florida State and Oregon.
The top two teams in the rankings, which are tabulated through a compilation of rating methods, will play for the BCS national championship on Jan. 6 in Pasadena, Calif.
“My comment was that we are, indeed, in the mix. Embrace it,” Meyer said. “In the mix for what? Don’t worry about it. We are in the mix, though. People think very highly of you. Maybe some people don’t. You just have to go out and be the best team on the field on Saturday, not in the country.”
That Meyer brought up the BCS standings seemed to take some of the Ohio State players by surprise. But as junior receiver Devin Smith said, doing so was a show of Meyer’s confidence in his team.
“I think he was making sure (to convey) if we took care of business, the BCS would work itself out,” defensive lineman Michael Bennett said.
The release of the first BCS list reveals that Ohio State’s destiny is not its own hands. Even if the Buckeyes win their final five regular-season games and the Big Ten championship game, they won’t be playing for a national title if any two-team combination of Alabama, Florida State and Oregon runs the table as well.
“Can’t really do much about it,” said Bennett of that hypothetical situation. “We’ve just got to go out and win — and win by large margins. And whatever happens, happens.”
Ohio State is winning, just not by large margins. While the Buckeyes have won each of their games by double figures, they have given up 24 or more points in all three of their league games to this point.
Meyer said the Buckeyes continue their search to play a full game when all facets of the game — offense, defense and special — are at top form.
The closest the Buckeyes have come to that, Meyer said, was in a 31-24 win over Wisconsin on Sept. 28, a game in which Ohio State was criticized for not finishing strong and allowing a 31-14 lead turn into a nail-biter.
“I think that game was pretty close to hitting on all cylinders, especially the way special teams changed the field positions,” Meyer said. “Other than that you’re right, we have room for some improvement.”
The search for the first full game of the season continues on Saturday against the Nittany Lions (4-2, 1-1), who are not eligible for postseason play, but who can throw a wrench into Ohio State’s postseason plans.
The Buckeyes are coming off a game in which Meyer called Ohio State’s offensive performance “one of our better games since we’ve been here.”
Meyer credited quarterback Braxton Miller for playing “probably his best game overall.” Miller completed 22 of 27 passes for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also ran for 102 yards.
Additionally, Carlos Hyde ran for 149 yards and two touchdowns behind an offensive line Meyer said “played exceptional.”
The defense? That’s another matter.
Ohio State gave up 375 yards to the Hawkeyes — 225 of which came in the first half that rubbed everyone in scarlet and gray the wrong way.
“Call it what it was,” Vrabel said of the first-half gouging. “They beat the (expletive) out of us.”
Despite not having all portions of their game line up for four quarters on a given Saturday yet, the Buckeyes remain upbeat. Meyer and players spoke at length of a halftime speech on Saturday given by Philly Brown that reminded the team, as Smith put it: “This is not us. This is not how we play.”
They’ll get another shot at it on Saturday against the Nittany Lions, who have risen from the embers of NCAA sanctions to be a bonafide threat to put an end to Ohio State’s 19-game winning streak.
“I think they’re all big,” Vrabel said. “When you’re in Ohio State, regardless of who you play, every game is big. Ohio State hasn’t lost since Coach Meyer started coaching here. Every game we play gets bigger and bigger.”